Toyota Begins Venza Production in Kentucky

November 10, 2008

$350 Million Investment Leads to New Vehicle Production at Georgetown Plant

GEORGETOWN, Ky. (November 10, 2008) --- Team members from Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. (TMMK) along with company officials and community leaders celebrated the official launch of the Venza, Toyota’s new, versatile five-passenger vehicle.

Venza couples the styling and comfort of a passenger car with the flexibility of a sport utility vehicle (SUV), to give customers a stylish alternative to the traditional sedan.

“It’s always exciting to launch a new product,” stated Steve St. Angelo, President of TMMK and senior vice-president of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing, North America (TEMA). “For Toyota to select TMMK as the production site is a real tribute to our team members and the experience of working side-by-side with our design and engineering groups has been very valuable.”

All aspects of Venza’s engineering and design were targeted specifically for the North American market, where it will be sold exclusively. Venza was primarily engineered at Toyota Technical Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., and designed at Toyota’s Calty Design studios in Newport Beach, Calif. and Ann Arbor. Venza will be exclusively assembled at TMMK.

TMMK has the capacity to build about 70,000 Venzas annually. The plant’s manufacturing flexibility allows the Venza to be built on the same assembly line with the Camry, Camry Hybrid and Solara convertible. More than 30 Kentucky-based suppliers will supply parts for the Venza including seats and glass components. Venza’s overall domestic content is approximately 70 percent.

TMMK is Toyota’s largest plant in North America employing about 7,000 team members with the annual capacity to produce 500,000 engines and vehicles.

Toyota (NYSE:TM) established operations in North America in 1957 and currently operates 13 manufacturing plants. In addition, new plants are under construction in Ontario, Canada and Mississippi. There are more than 1,700 Toyota, Lexus and Scion dealerships in North America which sold more than 2.9 million vehicles in 2007. Toyota directly employs over 43,000 in North America and its investment here is currently valued at more than $21 billion, including sales and manufacturing operations, research and development, financial services and design. Toyota's annual purchasing of parts, materials, goods and services from North American suppliers totals more than $30 billion per year.

Toyota currently produces 11 vehicles in North America, including the Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Matrix, Sienna, Solara, Sequoia, Tacoma, Tundra, Venza and the Lexus RX 350. When production begins in Ontario and Mississippi, Toyota will have 15 manufacturing plants with the annual capacity to build approximately 2.2 million cars and trucks, 1.49 million engines and 425,000 automatic transmissions. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyota.com.

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